ITTC Project

Remote Sensing of East Antarctic Ice Streams

Project Award Date: 09-01-2000

Description

Ice streams are rivers of ice that drain a large portion of an ice sheet. The West Antarctic ice streams have been the subjects of much study over the last few years. This is due to the marine-based West Antarctic ice sheet, which is believed to be unstable. In 1997, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency acquired radar images of the entire Antarctic continent with the C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar on board, RADARSAT. These radar images revealed the East Antarctic ice stream system in detail. Ice streams are extensive and drain a significant fraction of the East Antarctic ice. The presence of the ice stream system suggests more active mechanisms for moving ice out of the East Antarctic ice sheet. This is perhaps an indication of a potentially more protean ice sheet.

This research is aimed at determining the mass balance of East Antarctic ice streams by using surface, airborne and space-borne (in particular, RADARSAT) measurements of relevant ice stream characteristics. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the Glaciology and Geophysics group at the Alfred Wagner Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany.

Investigators

Project Sponsors

Primary Sponsor(s): NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center

Partner with ITTC

The
Information and Telecommunication Technology Center at the
University of Kansas has developed several assistance policies
that enhance interactions between the Center and local,
Kansas, or national companies.

ITTC
assistance includes initial free consulting (normally one to
five hours). If additional support is needed, ITTC will offer
one of the following approaches:

Sponsored
Research Agreement

Individuals
and organizations can enter into agreements with KUCR/ITTC and
provide funds for sponsored research to be performed at ITTC
with the assistance of faculty, staff and students.

Licensing
and Royalty/Equity Agreement

An
ITTC goal is the development of investment-grade technologies
for transfer to, and marketing by, local, Kansas, and national
businesses. To enhance this process, the Center has developed
flexible policies that allow for licensing, royalty, and
equity arrangements to meet both the needs of ITTC and the
company.

Commercialization
Development

Companies
with a technology need that can be satisfied with ITTC's
resources can look to us for assistance. We can develop a
relationship with interested partners that will provide for
the development of a technology suited for commercialization.

ITTC
Resource Access

ITTC
resources, including computers and software systems, may be
made available to Kansas companies in accordance with the
Center's mission and applicable Regents and University
policies.